Assessing the application of the 3Rs: a survey among animal welfare officers in The Netherlands

Implementation of the 3Rs (Replacement, Refinement and Reduction) in animal studies is a legal requirement in many countries. In The Netherlands, animal welfare officers (AWOs) are appointed to monitor the welfare of laboratory animals. As part of this task, AWOs give advice to researchers and can therefore have an influential role in implementing 3R methods in research. A national survey was conducted to gain more insight into how Dutch AWOs obtain and apply 3R information in their daily work. Nearly half of the AWO population filled out the questionnaire (15/32; a response rate of 46.9%). Two-thirds of the respondents pointed out that finding 3R information is not an easy task and more than half of the respondents believed that information on possibilities to implement the 3Rs is regularly being missed. The respondents indicated that most 3R information is obtained directly from colleagues and other AWOs. Special online 3R databases are rarely used. All the responding AWOs feel that they contribute to Refinement (15/15), nearly one-third of the respondents feel they contribute to Reduction (4/15), and one AWO feels he/she contributes to Replacement (1/15). According to the respondents, better exchange of knowledge can contribute to more successful implementation of the 3Rs. How this knowledge exchange can best be established and facilitated needs further exploration. To this end, the authors make suggestions for a 3R-integrated evidence-based approach.

Assessing the Search for Information on Three Rs Methods, and their Subsequent Implementation: A National Survey among Scientists in the Netherlands

A local survey conducted among scientists into the current practice of searching for information on Three Rs (i.e. Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) methods has highlighted the gap between the statutory requirement to apply Three Rs methods and the lack of criteria to search for them. To verify these findings on a national level, we conducted a survey among scientists throughout The Netherlands. Due to the low response rate, the results give an impression of opinions, rather than being representative of The Netherlands as a whole. The findings of both surveys complement each other, and indicate that there is room for improvement. Scientists perceive searching the literature for information on Three Rs methods to be a difficult task, and specific Three Rs search skills and knowledge of Three Rs databases are limited. Rather than using a literature search, many researchers obtain information on these methods through personal communication, which means that published information on possible Three Rs methods often remains unfound and unused. A solution might be to move beyond the direct search for information on Three Rs methods and choose another approach. One approach that seems rather appropriate is that of systematic review. This provides insight into the necessity for any new animal studies, as well as optimal implementation of available data and the prevention of unnecessary animal use in the future.

Assessing the sociocultural impacts of emerging molecular technologies for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Novel technologies for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) will impact the way society views and deals with AD and ageing. However, such “sociocultural” impacts are hardly acknowledged in standard approaches of technology assessment. In this paper, we outline three steps to assess such broader impacts. First, conceptual analysis of the ideas underlying technological developments shows how these technologies redraw the boundary between Alzheimer's disease and normal ageing and between biological and social approaches of ageing. Second, imaginative scenarios are designed depicting different possible futures of AD diagnosis and societal ways to deal with ageing and the aged. Third, such scenarios enable deliberation on the sociocultural impact of AD diagnostic technologies among a broad set of stakeholders. An early, broad, and democratic assessment of innovations in diagnostics of AD is a valuable addition to established forms of technology assessment.